Holes: Digging really helps
by Pca student
Summary: What do you do when life throws dirt and sand at you? You dig holes! A boy with a troubled past gets sent to Camp Green lake and as time goes on, he makes enemies, friends and his past begins to unravel. The story starts off in May of 1995.
1. Welcome to Camp Green Lake

**This story is based on both the book and movie. Stanley, Zero and our other famous D Tent boys won't be in it until later and that will be sometime in 97' or 98.' This story is going to be mainly focused on my own character Mark Pinules and there will be some back flashes of the past like their was in the movie. **

* * *

There was a 13 and a half year old boy named Mark Pinules who was on the rusty bus being taken to Camp Green Lake; a place for troubled youth to build character. It was early May of 1995 and he had been on that bus for a long time. He was tied to his seat with restraints making it impossible for him to move much. All he could really do is look out the window. He had a bottle of water right next to him. The ice had already melted a long time ago but the important thing was to keep himself from getting too dehydrated.

There was also a backpack on his seat. He had packed a photo book filled with pictures of he and his mom, a sketching pad, a drawing pad and box of colored pencils, crayons, regular pencils, pastels, a few erasers and a sharpener. He also packed his Game Boy, batteries for it and a little box for the games he had for it. He also packed his Walkmen and headphones, a locket that was very special to him and important. Something that meant the world to him. Lastly, he had packed his tooth brush, toothpaste and a bar of soap.

The air was really hot, especially as they neared the desert. Since it was almost summer; the temperature of the heat was almost 95 degrees. As they were nearing the destination where Mark would be for the next four years and 18 months of his life; he saw a bunch of dried up dirt and holes. Lots of holes. This somehow intrigued Mark. He thought back to when he was at his uncle Kal's house. Mark would always dig holes in the backyard.

Mark had blond hair and blue eyes. He took after his mother Laura and didn't resemble his father John at all.

The driver pulled to a stop as they arrived Camp Green Lake. The guard took the restraints of Mark. "Let's go." He spoke to Mark in a gruff tone. He was used to dealing with troubled delinquents and he wasn't going to treat Mark any different. Why should he?

Mark saw a few run down buildings and some tents. Farther away, there was a cabin beneath two tall trees. Those two trees were the only plant life he could see. There weren't even weeds.

The guard unlocked his handcuffs and led him off the bus. He had been on the bus for nearly nine hours. He followed the guard to a small building. A sign on front said 'YOU ARE ENTERING CAMP GREEN LAKE JUVENILE CORRECTIONAL FACILITY.' Next to it was another sign which declared that it was a violation of the Texas Penal Code to bring guns, explosives, weapons, drugs or alcohol onto the premises.

Mark followed him into the building where he felt the welcome relief of air conditioning. There was a man at the desk and a few cigarettes were being carelessly tossed aside. He was just about to lit up another cigarette until he realized he had company. "I have an addiction. It's a bit hard to quit." He told the guard who laughed.

"I have a cigarette addiction too." He replied.

Mark noticed their was a small refrigerator behind the man's desk. He got out two cans of soda and handed one to the guard and the other to the driver.

"Nine hours here and now nine hours back." The guard grumbled. "What a day."

He and the driver left and the man at the desk had his full attention on Mark now. "Alright son, have a seat."

Mark sat down and waited as the man looked through Mark's file. "Mark Pinules. Attempted murder."

Mark said nothing.

"I am Mr. Sir and whenever you speak to me, you will address me by Mr. Sir. Do I make myself clear?"

Mark nodded.

"Good, this ain't the girls scout camp." Mr. Sir began to explain the rules to Mark. "You are to dig one hole each day, including Saturdays and Sundays. Each hole must be five feet deep and five feet across in every direction. Your shovel will be your measuring stick. Breakfast is served at 4:30." He eyed Mark seriously to make sure he was paying attention.

_Mark was somewhere in a fenced area that was filled with dirt, digging a hole. He seemed really serious and focused on what he was doing._

"No one is going to babysit you. The longer it takes you to dig, the longer you will be out in the sun. If you dig up anything interesting, you are to report it to me or any other counselor. When you finish, the rest of the day is yours."

Mark nodded again. Mr. Sir checked his backpack and allowed him to keep it. He led Mark outside into the blazing heat. "Take a good look around you. What do you see?"

Mark looked out across the vast wasteland. The air seemed thick with heat and dirt.

Mr. Sir laughed. "You see any guard towers?"

Mark just stared blankly at him.

"How about an electric fence? There is no fence at all, is there? You want to run away? Go ahead, start running. I'm not going to stop you." Mr. Sir noticed that Mark didn't seem to be interested in the idea of running away. "Good thinking. Nobody runs away from here. We're the only place that has water for a hundred miles. You want to run away? You'll be buzzard food in three days."

Mr. Sir led Mark to another room where he had Mark remove his clothes to make sure he wasn't hiding anything. He was then given two sets of clothes and a towel. Each set consisted of a long sleeve orange jumpsuit, an orange T-shirt and socks. He was also given white sneakers, an orange cap and a canteen made of heavy plastic.

"You have two sets of orange suits. One for work and the other for relaxation. Laundry is done every three days and your work clothes will be washed. The other set will become your work clothes and you'll get clean clothes to wear while resting. You are assigned to D tent and your counselor will be Dr. Pendanski." Mr. Sir explained.

Mark just stared, not saying one word.

"Be careful for rattle snakes and scorpions. You don't bother them, they won't bother you. Usually. But you don't want to get bitten by a yellow spotted lizard. That is the worst thing that will happen to you. You will die, a slow and painful death. Always." Mr. Sir warned.

Mark just shrugged. to him, getting bitten by a yellow spotted lizard wasn't the worst thing that could happen to him. Cause the worst thing that could happen to him has already happened. He wouldn't care if he got bitten by a yellow spotted lizard. Life was slow and painful. He'd rather die in pain than live the rest of his life in emotional pain.

A seemingly happy and cheerful man came. "Mark Pinules! Hi. I am Dr. Pendanski. I know you have done some bad things but that does not make you a bad person. I respect you Mark Pinules and I'm gonna help you turn your life around." He explained. "Mr. Sir isn't really so bad. He just needs to quit smoking. The person you've got to worry about is the Warden. There's really only one rule at Camp Green Lake: Don't upset the warden."

Mark just glanced around as Dr. Pendanski pointed at all the buildings and explained things to him. He followed him into the building that was labeled Wreck Room. "This is the Wreck Room. You're probably wondering why it's spelled like that. Well a lot of the things in this room have been damaged."

Mark saw a punching bag, a weight lifting machine and a treadmill. The punching bag had a bit of a tear in it. There was also a pool table that had a dent on one side. There was a TV, nothing was wrong with it. In fact the TV show Friends was on and there was a nice sofa.

Two boys from B Tent were playing pool and they both looked competitive. Pendanski cleared his throat to get their attention. "It's almost 8:45, it's time for you to go back to your tent and get ready for bed."

The first B Tent boy scoffed. "You're not our counselor and we're not gonna stop until one of us wins."

The second B Tent boy nodded. "Yeah, we made a bet. If he wins, I have to let him use all my extra shower tokens for this whole weak but if he loses; he has to let me use his shower tokens."

Mark followed Pendanski to another building that was labeled Mess Hall, after that, they went back outside. "Tents A, B, C, D and E are for other campers but tent F and those trailers are for the counselors. Those are the showers. Everyone is only allowed four minutes and one of the knobs is broken so there's only one temperature; cold. That over there, is the Warden's cabin."

Mark followed him to D Tent.

"Who's the new guy?" A boy with a rebellious attitude asked.

"Oh, this here is your new tent mate, Mark Pinules. Mark, this is Jason."

The rebellious boy cut Dr. Pendanski off. "Dude, my name is not Jason, it's Bones." He hated being called by his real name and it showed.

Dr. Pendanski ignored him and introduced Mark to his other tent mates. "And this is Chester, that's Daniel, Lee, Eric and Randy."

"The name is Grim." Chester corrected Before saying the others' nicknames.

Daniel was Snapper, Lee was Speed, Eric was Chewy and Randy was Bomber.

"They all have their little nicknames but I prefer to call them by the names their parents gave them. Names that society will soon recognize them as." Pendanski explained. "Now I want you all to make him feel welcomed. You were all nervous on your first day. Even you Jason, though you won't admit it."

"It's not Jason, it's Bones." Bones was the leader of the group cause he's been there longer than any of them. Grim was his best friend who has been there the second longest.

"Chester, I want you to be his mentor alright. Now get some sleep. You have to get up at 4:30." Pendanski left the tent.

Mark put his backpack, change of clothes and towel in his crate. He went to his cot and lay down on his stomach. After ten minutes of just laying there, he finally went to sleep.

_Mark and his uncle Kal were in court and Kal was trying to explain something to the judge. "He's been through a lot sir. He just went through something tragic and people have been tormenting him since he was little."_

_"We'll what Mark nearly did is way worse than a bully taking your lunch money in the cafeteria." _

At 4:30 in the morning, Mark and his tent mates were awoken by a loud trumpet. "Get up! Rise and shine D Tenters, get your honey covered tortillas and your shovels! Come on, come on! The early mule digs the fastest hole!" Pendanski shouted._  
_

Mr. Sir was outside as well. "Move along, this ain't no Girl Scout camp!" He began to assign people to their digging spots. "You'll dig here." He told Mark. "Now listen up good. If you find anything interesting, you are to report it to me or Dr. Pendanski and if the warden likes what you find; you'll get the day off. You're digging to build character. You take a bad boy and make him dig all day in the hot sun and it turns him into a good boy." He left.

Mark had no idea what the Warden was interested in. He jammed his shovel into the hard ground, then jumped up and down on it a few times until the ground cracked. He took a bite into his tortilla. It wasn't that bad to him. He kinda liked it. He got started on his hole after finishing his tortilla.

Since the sand was so hard because it hasn't rained there in over a hundred years; the digging was a bit harder for Mark. He was used to hard sand cause it didn't rain much at uncle Kal's but this sand was a lot worse. It actually felt like Mark was trying to crack a big rock.

By the time his hole was 2 feet deep, it was going on 8. Despite that it was so early, it was already hot out and he was drenched with sweat. Sweat was dripping from his forehead, ears and neck. He was sweating all over. He didn't care.

At around 11, his hole was nearly four feet deep. His hole was a lot bigger than his tent mates. Bones who wasn't too far away, was watching with jealousy, disbelief and anger. He couldn't believe Mark was already almost finished with his hole. Before Mark came to this camp; Bones would always be the first to finish his hole. In an hour Mark's hole would be finished.

Bones growled with anger as he slammed his shovel against a wall of his hole. "Who does that newbie think he is?" He muttered to himself.

At 12, the water truck arrived. Mr. Sir was driving it. "Alright, line up everyone and get your water! Come on! I ain't got all day Girl Scouts!"

Mark's canteen was half empty and he helped himself out of his hole. As he made his way to the water truck; Bones pushed him to the end of the line. "I don't think so new guy." He spoke with hatred.

Mark took a sip from his canteen to give him some energy to speak. "Um, Mr. Sir, I think I'm almost finished with my hole."

Mr. Sir looked surprised. "Already?"

"Show off." Bones muttered.

After Mr. Sir refilled everyone's canteens, he checked Mark's hole. "Well what do you know?" He chuckled. "Better be careful Bones, looks like you have some competition." He joked. "He's a faster digger than you."

Bones growled furiously and whacked the ground with his shovel.

In a few minutes, Mark was done with his hole and unknown to him; Bones was still watching furiously. "Well would yah look at that fellas." He told the other D Tent members.

"What?" Grim asked.

"This new comer thinks he can just come into our terrortory like he's better than all of us." Bones was angry.

"Ooh, someone's jealous!" Bomber teased.

"Shut up Bomber! I have no reason to be jealous of this new fool. He's not even that tall. He's like only 4 foot 8 or something."

Bones was right. Mark wasn't that tall for his age. He was 4 foot 8 to be axact. Ever since he was younger; he was always the shortest kid in his classes and they'd make fun of him.

* * *

One day in the sixth grade when 11 year old Mark got home from school, he plopped on the couch depressed. He was made fun of for being only 4 foot 5. Most of the other kids in his school were already almost 5 feet. His Dad John was home and just gave him a cold look before walking upstairs.

Mark's mom Laura was in the kitchen and saw how depressed he looked. She became concerned and walked over. "Mark, sweetie, what's wrong?"

"Everyone at school is teasing me cause I'm the shortest." He sighed as he looked down at himself before looking back up at her. "Mom, why am I not getting any taller already. I'm already in middle school." He had just started middle school a few weeks ago after labor day.

Mark really hated middle school and a lot of the teachers there were cruel and not understanding.

"Mark," Laura began to stroke his hair. "There's nothing wrong with you. Everyone is different and you are getting taller, slowly. Some people take more time to get bigger, there's nothing wrong with that."

"Even my gym teacher Mr. Ray picks on me for being so short." Mark had a problem with Mr. Ray ever since the first day of school and Mark hated him and gym.

Mark sucked with gym and his gym teacher; Raymond Archiot who everyone called Mr. Ray was a real jerk. He was a tough and heartless desensitized bully and he always made fun of Mark and bullied him since the first day.

Mr. Ray noticed how mellow he was and it bothered him. He also didn't like how Mark wasn't good enough at any of the activities they were doing.

It got to the point where Mr. Ray would yell At him or even push him if he didn't run fast enough on the track or when they were doing laps. Mark also had trouble doing his push ups and balancing on a wobbly board without tripping. His balance wasn't too good.

A lot of students were intimidated by Mr. Ray but once they got on his good side, they had nothing to worry about. Mark however was never good enough for Mr. Ray and he really hated Mr. Ray.

"Mr. Ray is just a bully." Laura replied.

Two weeks before this; Mark also found out that he really didn't know how to play basket ball like he thought he did and he couldn't play the 'right' way. His way was easier. Mr. Ray taunted and belittled him after he figured it was hard for Mark to learn Fast enough. He also told Mark he was useless and should give up with his dream while he can.

Mark came home crying that day. He went in his room and tore off every poster he had of famous basketball athletes on his wall. After that, he went out in the yard and picked up his basketball, staring down at it. Ever since Mark was a little kid; his dream was to someday be a famous basketball player.

The conversation he had with Mr. Ray, played in his head.

...

Ray: That's not how you play basketball.

Mark: But I always play like this.

Ray: Well that's not the right way to play. This is how you play, big shot.

Mark: I can't do it Mr. Ray, I can't play this way. It's too hard!

Ray: You're just a pathetic wimp who can't do anything right. Completely useless and you want to be a basketball star? (He chuckled) You're more like a wannabe to me.

Mark: What's wrong with playing how I want to play?

Ray: That's not how a true basketball star or any player for that matter plays. You never knew how to play basketball and they'll never except unprofessional wannabes. You're useless Mark. You'll always be good for nothing. You should just give up your dream while you can before you humiliate yourself in front of the professionals.

...

Laura watched Mark from the kitchen window, just staring down at his basketball.

Mark glanced at the basketball hoop and after a moment of hesitation, he lifted up the basketball and threw it over the fence. Laura gasped as she saw this.

"I am never playing basketball ever again!" Mark yelled loud enough that the entire neighbor hood could hear. He ran back inside, into his room and slammed the door shut.

John was sitting on the couch watching TV. "Could you get the damn kid to shut up?" He asked Laura annoyed.

She gave him a dirty look and ran upstairs crying Mark's name. "Mark!"

John just shook his head wondering why she cared about Mark. To John, Mark was nothing but a loser and a big mistake. He never even wanted to be a father in the first place.

Mark had his face buried into his pillow, crying nonstop and Laura rushed in. "Mark! What's the matter?" She looked around and saw that all the posters were torn off his wall.

"I suck at basketball."

"What are you talking about? You're great. Who told You this?" She asked.

"Mr. Ray. In gym when I was playing basketball, he told me I was playing the wrong way and I can't play the way he taught me." He explained.

* * *

Chewy laughed. "He's the shortest guy in this entire camp."

"Yeah, that's right. He's just a little boy compared to us hard working men. You can teach him a lesson." Snapper told Bones.

Mark made his way to the shed and put his shovel away. After that, he went to go take his four minute cold shower. He didn't like warm showers much cause he didn't want to have a warm and caring heart. He wanted to be cold hearted and completely frozen inside. What was the point of having a heart anyway?

Life was cruel and it was always the kind hearted people that had to suffer and go through pain and grief. Mark realized almost a year ago just how terrible and evil life really was. People were born to suffer, go through hell and eventually die. That's the way things were meant to be. That's what life wanted.

People and things were created to be destroyed. There was no purpose for anybody. People work hard for nothing. People live for nothing. If something good happened, it didn't last for long, it got taken away. What Mark went through almost a year ago made him think like this.


	2. The reason

After showering up; Mark dried up using his orange towel and changed into his relaxation clothes. He went to his tent and sat on his cot. He got his back pack and took out A photo book. Tears fell from his eyes as he looked at the pictures of he and his mother.

It was a moment of silence until Bones came barging in the tent. "Hey, little boy!" He shouted Causing Mark to put the picture book back in his crate. He looked up and saw Bones who looked deadly serious.

He had his hands in a fist and marched over. "So, you think you're better than all of us huh? Well let me tell you something, you're not! You're just a wimp! A pathetic, weak and defenseless little boy. I don't even know how the hell someone like you could end up here. What did you do that was so bad? Color outside of the lines?"

He grabbed Mark by the collar. "We'll let me make something clear! I'm the boss of this tent and you will do as I say or you'll end up in a hospital. I'm the fastest digger of this tent and things will stay that way!" He pushed Mark to the ground and left the tent. "Oh yeah and don't even think about tattling to Pendanski or Mr. Sir. They won't do shit for you little boy. You're on your own."

Mark was too worn out to be angry but he was slightly annoyed.

At dinner in Mess Hall as Mark was about to walk over to his table to eat, Bones got up. "Watch this you guys." He knocked the tray out of Mark's hands and the food went all over the floor. Mark slipped and fell causing all his tent mates and delinquents from the other tents to laugh and point At him.

Bones was cracking up. "Uh, you might wanna watch where you're going clutz!"

Dr. Pendanski saw the entire thing. "Hey! I saw that!" He marched over. "What is going on here?"

Bones snickered. "Sorry dude, I couldn't resist. Looks like he's gonna have to eat off the floor now, huh?" To Bones; Mark was getting exactly what he deserved. Serves him right for trying to be better than him.

However Pendanski was not amused one bit. "I'm glad you find this all amusing Jason." He told him sarcastically. "I'm sure the Warden will 'love' to hear about the stunt you just pulled."

"What?" Bones was upset.

"Ooh!" His tent mates minus Mark, teased.

"Come on man, I was just fooling around!" Bones pleaded. He really did not want to face the Warden. She was really dangerous especially when she was angry or irritated. "No hard feelings!"

"Either you get up and come with me or I'll have to call the Warden to come down here herself." Pendanski told him deadly serious.

Bones slammed his fists down on the table and followed Pendanski.

Mark began to pick his green peas off the floor with his fork and ate them. After dinner, he went back to his tent. The others decided to hang out in the Wreck room for awhile and Mark just wanted to be alone.

He got out the photo book again and looked at the pictures, depressed.

Minutes later, Bones barged into the tent. His face was all messed up. The Warden had used her rattle snake venom nail polish on him. Mark looked up, confused.

"What are you looking at little boy?" Bones asked really angry.

Mark just turned back to his photo book and shrugged.

"You know," Bones began in a quiet, yet serious tone. "Things were just fine until you came along."

Shortly after he said that; his best friend Grim walked in the tent. He wanted to see if Bones was okay. "Bones, dude, are you-" Grim paused as he saw how messed up his face was. "Dude, your face."

"Yes, I'm aware of what the wicked witch of this dried up wasteland did to my face. She forced me to look through her mirror and threatened to scratch me again if I refused." Bones explained. "She told me she wanted me to see how 'pathetic' I look when I behave like that and if I cause anymore problems; she's gonna force me to dig two holes instead of one."

Bones didn't feel like he was doing anything wrong. He just wanted to be the boss. Was that so wrong? He just wanted to remain the fastest digger in his tent and he didn't want the others to lose their respect for him. He was 16 years old and only had one more year at Camp Green Lake to serve.

Before getting sent here, he was out on the streets getting into fights with people all the time. He'd end up breaking or dislocating their bones. That's when he decided to go by the name Bones. He recruited a group of bad or misunderstood boys at his school and they became a gang.

They'd sell illegal drugs to make money and steal valuable things without getting caught. Before his street life, Bones' parents had disowned him, telling him how useless he was. He was put in a group home and the people there weren't that nice and welcoming either.

He ran away from the group home and stayed with his gang at an abandoned subway. He was 14 and a half when all this happened and the police caught him. He was given a choice and he chose to serve 3 years at Camp Green Lake.

Bones didn't want to be thought of as useless. He wanted to feel like he was good for something So he became the leader of D Tent and once he got the hang of digging holes, he got finished before any of the others.

"That's harsh." Grim replied.

"So is life. I explained everything to her about this newbie and she told me digging holes isn't a competition, it's to build character." Bones replied.

The next morning was the same. Everyone woke up, had their breakfast and headed for the shed to get their shovels and canteens. Like yesterday, Mark was finished with his hole at 12. He went to take his four minute cold shower and changed into his recreation clothes. Dr. Pendanski saw him walk towards the tent. "You're done with your hole already?"

Mark nodded And went in the tent. He took out his Game Boy and searched through the game box to see what game he wanted to play. He decided to play Donkey Kong. His uncle bought him that game 11 months ago but he never played it cause he was too busy digging holes and he didn't feel like playing games.

He became engrossed in the game as the minutes passed.

It was counseling day so Dr. Pendanski had everyone sit on chairs. "Welcome to group therapy, Mark Pinules. Yesterday was your first day here, so how did things go? Aside from what Jason did in Mess Hall?" He asked, trying to make conversation.

"My name is Bones!" Bones growled viciously.

Pendanski ignored him. "How did it go?" He repeated.

"Uh, it was fine." Mark replied after a few seconds of silence.

"Since you're new here, would you like to tell us what you did to get sent here?" Pendanski asked.

"I attempted murder." Mark replied.

* * *

It was almost eight months ago. It was late September and Mark was just getting ready to leave the gym. Mr. Ray was working on a fuse box and said something to Mark.

They were the only two in the gym. Ray just started teasing him and being insensitive. "Mark Pinules, you're a real wimp you know," He began. "You're never going to get anywhere in life if you don't toughen up. Not like it's even possible for you. So your mom died, boo hoo, that's life. No one's gonna feel sorry for you."

Mark's hands were clenched in a fist.

"You're just a worthless good for nothing cry baby." Ray finished.

"Shut up!" Mark yelled. That was the first time he said anything in months. He charged at Mr. Ray like an angry bull who was let loose.

"Oh you wanna get into it with me, little punk?" Ray began to move his fists forward, punching the air. "You don't want to get into it with me little boy. By the time I'm finished with you, you're gonna have a bloody nose and lots of broken bones."

"You fuckin dick!" Mark kicked him right in the nuts really hard.

"Ow! Little dumb ass!" Ray tried to punch him right in the face but he dodged the attack. All the digging that Mark did over the summer must have really paid off cause he was a lot stronger now, especially in the muscles and he was in a martial arts class since the beginning of seventh grade.

He pushed Ray against the wall and shoved his head into the fuse box. Ray began to scream and yell as he was electrocuted to death.

Mark felt like stress has been taken off his shoulders as he watched Mr. Ray die. Mark left the gym smiling. He began to realize that he didn't have to take crap from people. When Ray was discovered dead by another teacher; they thought his death was an accident.

Ray was the first Mark killed and he wasn't going to be the last.

A person can only go through so much hurt and pain until they finally explode and that's exactly what happened to Mark. He just couldn't take it anymore. He was tired of people and life.

He heard about some pretty sick stuff on the news. It was always about people getting rapped, harassed, people dying from accidents, because of murder, hate crimes and many other awful things. He also heard about terrorist attacks, people setting buildings on fire and children getting abused. That's all that ever happens in life. Nothing good ever happens. That's the way life is. It wants terrible things to happen to people.

The second Mark found out his mother was gone was when his world became nothing but cold and empty darkness. He was put into shock as he had to face the truth about Laura's fate. She was the only one who cared about him and he loved her very much.

Mark's dad didn't love him at all. He hated him. He never even wanted to be a father in the first place. He'd yell at Mark for every little thing and sometimes he'd even hit and punch Mark.

Killing Mr. Ray made him feel what he hasn't in a long time; happiness. He was happy that he didn't have to listen to that big mouth jerk ever again. There were other people Mark couldn't stand and wanted to get rid of.

He really hated his history teacher, Mr. Gonzoles. He always treated Mark unfairly and whenever a kid bullied him; Gonzoles would take their side. He was a really pathetic excuse of a teacher. He got into everyone's business, a lot of the students didn't like him much and he thought of Mark as manipulative.

...

Last year when a student named Dylan was bothering Mark and talking about him behind his back, he was really upset and tried to keep the anger to himself. Dylan was gossiping to another student about how Mark was always so quiet and 'mad' all the time. Mark began to write down on paper how much he hated Dylan and raised a paper in the air for everyone to see. Written on the paper was I Hate Dylan.

Mr. Gonzoles got upset with Mark and didn't care that Dylan was talking about Mark behind his back. "Hey, what do you think you're doing? Give me that paper now!" Mr. Gonzoles shouted. "It's going in your file!"

"No!" Mark yelled. "He started this!" He exclaimed pointing at Dylan. "He was talking about me!"

"Give me that paper now and report to the principal's office!" Mr. Gonzoles was firm.

"You don't understand! He's always bullying me!" Mark cried out.

"So? It's okay for you to bully others but for them not to bully you?" Was the big jerk's response.

Mark couldn't believe this asshole! The nerve he had to say that to him! He never bullied anyone and he has always been the victim ever since his early childhood.

Mark refused to give him the paper and Mr. Gonzoles dragged Mark all the way to the principal's by the ear. Mark was suspended for 3 days and had 2 weeks of detention.

...

It was a week after Mr. Ray's murder when Mark was sitting in Mr. Gonzoles class with a knife in his hands. He was tightly holding onto the handle as his anger grew. Yesterday afternoon when school was out, he heard Mr. Gonzoles talking to his bus driver Talia Feneile. They were talking smack about him and brought his mother into the conversation.

Talia Feneile was another person that Mark really hated. She was mean to him too and would call him names. She hated him cause he was quite; the same reason other people didn't like him.

The last bell rang and the students were dismissed. Mark glared at Mr. Gonzoles before walking over. "You really need to get over what happened to your mother. It was four months ago. Mr. Gonzoles told him.

Mark grabbed him by the shirt and pushed him to the ground.

"What the-" Mr. Gonzoles was surprised by Mark's strength. Mark brought out the knife and the teacher's eyes widened. He tried to get up but Mark stepped on his feet and plunged the knife into Gonzoles chest causing him to scream. Mark dragged him by the feet, towards the window.

He opened the window and pushed Gonzoles into the street. Mark watched as a car zoomed by and ran over his teacher, killing him instantly. His face was flattened, his bones were broken and their was blood all over.

Mark looked down at the bloody knife in his hands; fascinated. He closed the window and got a tissue to wipe the knife clean.

He got ready to get on his bus.

"Hurry up and get on retard. We're gonna be late enough as it is." Talia told him.

He was going to kill her next. She was going to bite it. No one talks badly about his mother and gets away with it.

...

One day near the end of the sixth grade; Talia went to her best friend's house to pick her up. She was running late for work and her car was broken. On the bus, Talia began to gossip about Mark, saying how he never talked to her and he was always starring out the window and listening to his Walkmen.

Mark was upset through out the whole ride. She even had the nerve to talk about his mother.

When they arrived school, Mark waited for the other kids to get off first and as he was on the last step, he let out a loud scream. He heard the bus driver yelling as he finally got off the bus. He faced the bus and loudly called the bus driver a bitch.

"Excuse me?" Talia was taken back but she sounded sarcastic.

Mark stormed off but Mr. Ray was there and heard Mark yell. "What is going on here?" He asked the driver.

"This kid just screamed for no reason and called me a bitch!" She replied.

"Mark Pinules?" He asked with disbelief. It was so 'hard' to believe the boy had feelings cause he never talked. Everyone thought he was stupid because he was quiet. "So you called the driver a bitch, huh?" He asked, grabbing Mark's arm.

Mark faced Talia. "You are a bitch! I heard everything you said about me and my mother!"

"So?" Ray yelled. "Was it really any of your business punk? She can say whatever the fuck she wants!" Ray was in his face.

"I've dealt with assholes like you guys before!" Mark yelled at them.

Talia scoffed. "Oh really?" She put her hands on her hips while Ray wore a creepy smug and had his arms folded.

"You know, you're always going to be all alone in life and pathetic if you don't socialize with people and let the past go. You're never going to have any friends if you're always keeping everyone out." Talia told Mark. She knew nothing about him. She was just some random ignorant stranger who made assumptions about him.

"Yeah." Ray said loudly, enjoying Mark's pain. "I'm gonna teach him a lesson. He was pulling on Mark's arm and dragged him into the building. "Ow, stop! Let go! My arm! You're hurting me!"

Ray led him to the empty gym and locked the door. "I'll teach you to respect your elders!" Ray began to push him around and punch and kick him.

Mark was whimpering with pain.

"You're just all talk huh?" Ray taunted. "Not so tough now are you? Little wimp." He dragged Mark by the feet and spun him around, before throwing him across the room.

Mark landed on a mat and was in terrible pain. Ray walked over and kicked him in the face a few times. "Come on, aren't you gonna get up and fight me like the assholes you've 'dealt' with before or are you too much of a little weakling?" Ray taunted. He lifted Mark up by the shirt and pushed him against a wall. He gave Mark a black eye and a bloody nose. He also gave Mark a few bruises.

Mark's mom had to take him to school for that whole week because he was suspended from the bus. The week he was back on his bus, Talia made it everyone's business why he was suspended from the bus.

...

Once Talia took Mark home; he got a dart from the shed and followed Talia's bus. He was a really fast runner. He threw the dart at one of her tires causing it to pop. Talia screamed as she lost control over the wheel and crashed into a car. She ended up dying right away cause the 'accident' was so severe. Mark smiled as he watched this happen.

The next day when he was getting off the bus, three bullies who always tormented him; followed him. Their names were Damian, Terrance and Lance. Mark ran as fast as he could. His uncle wasn't even home yet. He was still at work.

Mark jumped down in the 12 foot deep hole he dug over the summer. The boys jumped down as well, and leader of the trio; Damian folded his arms, looking all smug. "We'll looks like we got you cornered. Wrong move little boy." He walked towards Mark and held him against the wall. Mark kicked him hard in the nuts and grabbed him by the shirt.

Damian's friends were surprised. Since when could Mark do stuff like this? He was always the weak and defenseless little wimp. Well he wasn't that boy anymore. He was badass now. He nearly lifted Damian off the ground!

Mark smashed Damian against the hard rocky wall, picked up a boulder and began to repeatedly whack him across the face with it, killing him.

Terrance and Lance gasped. They tried to get away but ended up tripping over a branch. Mark picked up a shovel and swung it at both of them. He swung the shovel with such force. He whacked them with the shovel repeatedly until they were dead. Mark had planned on killing these three down here for awhile now and had everything prepared. He had a bucket filled with water and cleaned the blood off the shovel.

Mark created a fire by pointing a mirror towards the sun. It was so hot that it didn't take long and he put the fire on a log. He burned Damian, Terrance and Lance's bodies until they were nothing but ashes.

There was this mean random lady who just said little remarks to Mark. He couldn't stand her. She was such a bitch to him. She criticized the way he dresses, she talked badly about him behind his back and said her little comments. Her name was Valerie and she was a teaching assistant at that school.

It was early November, one of the times where it started to get a bit cold. There was a relaxation room at the school. A place just for the staff to chill, relax and hang out. There was a jacozi there and Valerie was in it.

There was a temperature box that controlled the temperature of the jacozi. "This is just relaxing." She sighed relaxed.

Mark turned up the temperature a bit and Valerie realized it was getting a bit too hot. "It's getting a bit too hot here." She helped herself out and Mark turned the knob on the box all the way up. No other staff were in the room, just Valerie. Mark walked up behind her and pushed her hard into the jacozi.

She let out a scream as the hot water burned her skin. She looked up at Mark who pushed her. He had on some special gloves and watched as Valerie tried to get out again. He pushed her head under the water and the water filled her lungs as she screamed bloody murder.

Soon the squirming and kicking stopped and she was no longer screaming. She was dead and she looked almost like a cooked lobster. He left the room after taking pride in his work.

The next day, the whole school was called into the auditorium and the principal told them about Valerie's death. Mark was smiling through out the whole thing.

"You know, I thought Valerie was hot." Mark's science teacher Mr. Willows told a male aid named Roy who nodded agreeing.

"Wouldn't you agree Mark?" Mr. Willows asked.

Mark gave him a dirty look.

"Of course she wasn't as hot as your mother was. Oh your mother. She gave me such feels. She made me harden. I wanted to fuck her so bad." Mr. Willows said. "Too bad she died."

Mark was angry now. He never liked Mr. Willows or Mr. Roy. They were both creeps. Two years ago when Laura would go to his school for parent teacher conferences; Mark saw the way Mr. Willows would stare at her inappropriately when she wasn't paying attention and undress her with his eyes. There were a few times when Laura would come to pick Mark up.

"I wanted to make her my personal sex slave." Roy said. "I would have used chains and whips if she gave me any trouble."

Mark's hands clenched in a tight fist.

Later on when Roy was in the gym lifting up heavy weights, Mark walked in. He grabbed the weight from Roy.

"Hey, what the-" Roy looked up at a really angry and pissed off Mark. Roy screamed as Mark violently dropped the heavy weight on top of his head. He died from the impact.

Instead of getting on the bus when it was time to go home; Mark followed Mr. Willows who didn't even know he was being followed. He realized his car keys were gone when he was in the parking lot and went back in the building to search for them.

Mark used the car keys to open the trunk of the car and got in. He dropped the keys to the ground when he saw Mr. Willows coming back out. Mr. Willows picked up the keys and got in his car. He drove home and Mark waited for him to go inside. Mark got out of the trunk and got in the house by climbing through an open window.

He marched over to Mr. Willows getting ready to beat him up.

"M- Mark?" He asked surprised. "How did you get here?"

Mark angrily pulled onto his shirt and glared at him.

"What- what are you doing?" Mr. Willows asked a bit scared.

Mark pushed him against the wall. "Fuck 'this' Mr. Willows!" Mark kicked him in the nuts as hard as he could and brought out a knife that he took out of one of the kitchen drawers.

"Mark, please, we can talk about this!" Mr. Willows was truly scared of him.

"You fuckin filthy and sick pig!" Mark stomped on his foot and stabbed his penis.

"Ah!"

Mark pushed him to the ground and put a hand over his mouth. He put tape over Mr. Willows mouth and began to stab him like mad. He dragged Mr. Willows's lifeless body to the fire place and set him on fire like he did to the three burning the scared and sorry teacher, Mark cleaned up the blood and left.

Kal was worried about Mark. He was always worried. He was waiting for Mark. Mark came home and knocked on the door.

"Where were you? What took you so long to come home?" Kal asked.

Mark just walked pass him and went in his room. Kal knew that a lot of accidents have been happening at Mark's school and that must have been hard for Mark to hear about. Mr. Ray was electrocuted to death, Mr. Gonzoles got ran over by a car, Talia got into a car crash and died and Valerie was burned to death.

Kal also heard about three boys Mark's age who just 'mysteriously' disappeared. Kal decided to check on Mark and walked over to his room. "Mark, are you, is everything alright?"

Mark was laying on his bed playing a game on his Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

The next day, Kal was shocked to hear that someone else at Mark's school had an 'accidental' death; Roy. When Mr. Willows didn't show up for school, people were wondering what happened to him; especially since he didn't call in sick or explain why he wasn't showing up. People began to assume that maybe hearing about these deaths that have been accuring; drove him away.

Kal was beginning to suspect that something wasn't right about Mark. Sure he was quite and in shock about his mother's death but that wasn't it. No, there was something else, something that truly scared Kal.

The same day Mark's original bus driver got into an accident was also the same day Kal was in the shed and found that his dart was missing. He knew that Mark used a shovel to dig holes and a canteen but what could Mark possibly want to do with a dart? When Kal was watching the news; he heard that a dart was found in the street near Talia's bus and his eyes widened a bit as he thought about his missing dart. Also when he discovered his dart was gone; he also knew Mark wasn't home but figured he went to the digging site.

Before Kal went in the shed; he saw Mark running on the sidewalk really fast like he was hunting someone or something down. He looked very eager with whatever it was he wanted to do. He looked like he wanted to kill someone. Kal tried to shrug off this awful vibe he was getting from his nephew and convince himself that he was just going crazy but as the months went by; Kal's suspicion and the awful vibe he got from Mark was getting worse.

One day when it was nearing mid January, Mark was holding the toy shovel Laura bought him six years ago after a mean lady broke his first toy shovel when he was digging in the sandbox.

...

Mark was in the 2nd grade digging in the sandbox. That's all he would do during play time is dig but he didn't get bored. He loved digging holes and wanted to dig the biggest hole he could but because recess and lunch only lasted for 30 minutes, he couldn't get very far. One time he did manage to make his hole a little over 4 feet deep. The sand was soft for crying out loud! It was the rocks and the fools rocks that made it a bit hard.

That's when he had to start putting more strength into his muscles. He just kept digging so things became easier as time went on. On this very day when the bell rang, Mark decided to ignore it and continued digging. He wanted to get farther but he got in trouble.

A mean and strict lady named Gretchen marched over and grabbed the shovel from him. She yelled at him and humiliated him in front of all the kids. They laughed at him and made their remarks. The mean, strict lady even threw Mark's shovel on the ground and stomped on it, causing it to break. Mark gasped and watched this happen with horror.

He began to cry and the kids made fun of him more and called him a cry baby. Gretchen smirked at Mark. "Here, take your stupid shovel. That's what you get."

Mark's mom bought him a new shovel and she'd take him to the park so he could dig as much as he wanted.

...

He was near the school's garden, just staring at the toy shovel. A few tears escaped his eyes and landed on the shovel. He sighed depressed and looked up at the sky. He really missed his mother. He felt so lost and broken without her.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here." A familiar woman said. Mark turned around and saw the same lady who broke his first toy shovel. "Aren't you a bit too old to play kindergartner in the sandbox?" She asked sarcastically.

He just stared at her with almost no expression before looking down at the ground.

"Oh I see how it is." She chuckled. "Still the same pathetic and worthless brat you were in grammar school." She snatched the shovel from him causing him to become angry and then she threw it to the ground and stomped on it.

She smiled cruelly at him. "I will see you after school for detention." She handed him a detention slip and walked off. As Mark stared at the broken shovel, his anger grew. He had a death glare on his face as he watched her walk off.

After school, he went to Gretchen's class for detention. He was the only one there. He arrived before she did and went in the supplies closet. He got a rope and tied it to a rail, he also put a bucket under the rope and picked up the duct tape.

"Mark, you brat, you get out of there now you big baby!"

"Time for the witch to die." Mark said to himself.

She came in and he pushed her hard. She lost her balance and fell against the stacked up cardboard boxes. "What the hell?"

"You son of a bitch!" Mark charged towards her and taped her mouth shut. "My mother bought me that shovel and you broke it!" He brought out a broken piece of the shovel and slit Gretchen's arm with it.

Her scream was muffled. She tried to get up but he kicked her really hard and locked the door. He dragged her over to the bucket and rope and wrapped another part of the rope around her neck. He used all his strength to lift her off the ground and put her feet on the bucket. He pulled the tape off her mouth and pushed the bucket away from her feet. She went up and her neck snapped. She was now dead. Mark had hung her and he was going to make it look like she committed suicide.

He found a piece of sharp glass and picked it up. He then slit her arm with it and put it near her hanging corpse. He also straightened out the boxes and after admiring his work, he unlocked the door and walked out.

He headed for the boys restroom and used a sink to rinse the blood of the broken shovel piece he used to cut Gretchen's arm. He made sure all the blood went down the drain and used a paper towel to dry off the shovel piece. He used a pay phone to call Kal to pick him up.

Mark was still upset about his broken shovel. He went in his room and fixed the shovel with crazy glue.

A few weeks later, a new boy came to Mark's school. His name was Jacob Tater and he was in the same grade as Mark. He also lived across the block and Kal hoped Mark and this boy would become good friends but Jacob turned out to be like the other kids and bullied Mark.

Jacob was talking to a few friends he made. A girl named Tiffany Stone and a boy named Steven Roberts.

"I always see that Mark kid at the digging site. He's always digging these massive holes." Jacob explained.

"He's a weirdo." Tiffany said.

"Yeah. He's been a freak since he was born." Steven replied.

What they didn't know is that Mark was listening in. Tears were slowly escaping his eye lids.

Later when school was out; Mark was at the digging site working on another one his holes. He stopped to take a little break. He seemed to be in thought. He sighed as he felt more tears filling his eyes.

"Hey freak!" Jacob shouted. "Why are you always out here digging holes? Don't you have a life? Oh right, digging's all you seem to know. It's all you'll ever be good for. D.I.G. What's that spell? I bet you're so dumb that you can't even spell."

Mark was getting irritated.

"I wonder how your mother put up with you."

"Shut up!" Mark screamed and lunged at him.

Jacob began to scream as he fell. Mark covered his mouth. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" He repeated. He pushed Jacob in the hole, got in, covered his mouth again, took out a knife and stabbed him like mad. He disembowled Jacob, then once he got out of the hole, he covered it up and left.

Mark came home and rinsed off the knife. After taking a cold shower, drying off and changing into his new clothes; he went in his room and began to play a game on his Super Nintendo Entertainment System.

Kal got home from work around 20 minutes later. He went in Mark's room. "Uh, Mark, I was just reading the newspaper. It says that men are going to start working on something at the digging site so you can't go there anymore." He explained.

The next day when Kal was watching the news, he was horrified to hear that one of the workers at the digging site had came cross a dead and disembowled body. He looked familiar to Kal. That was Jacob Tater! Kal began to think the worst of Mark again as he glanced around.

Mark had a big smile on his face as he watched the news on his TV.

The school was sad when they found out about Jacob's murder. Even though he was new, he was already popular.

Soon Mark killed people for no reason. He was becoming too emotionally unstabled and had no idea what he was doing anymore.

In April; Kal caught Mark in the yard on top of a boy whose mouth was covered with tape. Mark had a knife in his hands and began to stab him. Kal rushed over and grabbed the knife from him. "Mark."

Mark said nothing.

Kal took the tape off the boy's mouth and he ran off terrorized. Kal looked at Mark, excepting that his assumption of him was right. He needed help and Kal didn't know what to do. Mark just stood there in silence. He stared at the ground. He didn't even look upset that Kal had stopped him from killing the poor boy.

Mark looked almost emotionless until tears began to fall from his eyes and he was shaking uncontrollably. Kal rushed over and pulled him into a hug.

The boy told his parents Mark was insayin and the parents talked to Kal. He told them he caught Mark with the knife and in May, Mark and Kal went to court.

"Mark Pinules, you just attempted murder," The male judge began. "I could send you straight to jail right now and I won't lose any sleep over it but there's a few available spots for troubled boys at Camp Green Lake. It's a detention camp that helps troubled youth build character. It's your choice Mark, Camp Green Lake or jail."

Mark's eyes widened with surprise at his first choice. Camp Green Lake? It sounded familiar to him.

...

5 year old Mark was sitting on a bed and Laura sat next to him. "You wanna hear a story?" She asked.

He nodded.

"Well this isn't like the fairy tale stories I read to you every night. This is a true story. It's about your great, great grandmother. She was once a school teacher at Green Lake."

...

"He's been through a lot sir." Kal told the judge. "He just lost his mother almost a year ago and people have been tormenting him since he was little." Kal knew now that the deaths that happened at Mark's school were no accidents or suicide because Mark told him at home on the same day he was caught trying to kill the poor boy. Kal was the only one who knew the truth about those deaths now and he wanted to keep it that way.

"Well what Mark nearly did is way worse than a bully taking your lunch money in the cafeteria."

"Um, I'll go to Camp Green Lake." Mark finally said.

"4 years and 18 months of Camp Green Lake it is." The judge said. "You better start packing. You'll be leaving first thing tomorrow."

* * *

Of course that's all Pendanski and the other adults thought that's all he did. If they knew about all the lives that were lost; Mark would probably be in jail right now and then he'd either go to adult jail once he's 18 or he would get the death sentence.

Kal didn't want Mark to go through any of that. He didn't condone any of Mark's actions but he understood why he did that and what he was going through. He lost his mother and he had been bullied his whole life. He just snapped.


	3. Punishment

Mark's tent mates just stared at him in complete silence and they appeared to be somewhat confused. They didn't think a boy like Mark could be capable of attempting murder but hey, looks can be really deceiving. Even Dr. Pendanski was in silence for awhile, noticing the stares of the other boys. This was really awkward and uncomfortable.

He cleared his throat. "Um, okay, I just remembered that The Warden, Mr. Sir, other counselors and I are having a meeting." He was a bit shaky and his fingers were fidgeting. "I'm already a few minutes late so uh, maybe you should get ready for bed. To make up for this; we'll continue counseling tomorrow right after you're finished digging your holes."

All the boys except for Mark, groaned.

"Oh man!" Bomber whined.

"Come on, counseling can't be that bad, Randy." Pendanski left the tent, looking like a nervous wreck. It was obvious that he had lied about having a meeting to attend to.

"This bites man." Speed told Bones.

"I bet yah the new kid just made that up." Chewy plopped down on his cot.

"Yeah." Grim agreed. "He doesn't strike me as the type who'd attempt murder at all."

Mark listened to their conversation as he laid on his side.

"So what do you think the kid really did to get sent here?" Snapper wondered.

"Who knows? But I'll give him credit for what he said. It did get us out of counseling. You should have seen the Doc, man. He was like fidgeting." Chewy gave Bones a light shoulder punch.

"Whatever." Bones shoved him away, not in the mood for joking around. Instead, Bones just sat on his cot and glared at Mark. He did not like his new tent mate at all. First this kid is faster at digging holes than him and now he gets them out of counseling by scaring Dr. Pendanski. Bones couldn't even get himself and the others out of counseling. What made Mark any different?

When Mark was sure that all his tent mates were asleep, he carefully got up from the cot, and got the heart shaped necklace out of his backpack. He put it around his neck, walked over to the chair he sat down on during counseling and carefully picked it up. He unzipped the tent, went outside and put the chair down.

He sat down and took the locket off his neck. He stared at the night time sky and tears filled his eyes as he thought about the only person in his life who was truly worth caring about. Why did she have to leave him like that? She promised him that no matter what happens; she would always be with him. Well where was she now?

At uncle Kal's house; Kal was in the living room reading a newspaper. He thought about Mark and wondered how he was adjusting to the camp. He always felt bad for the boy, ever since he was little. Kal thought of the possibility that Mark had problems. Kal could see it. When Mark was a little boy; he showed some signs of autism.

Mark didn't socialize with the other kids much when he, his mom and dad would visit relatives. Mark would just cling onto his mom. A lot of things also bothered Mark. He didn't like loud noise or being alone without Laura. He would cry and scream if she left him for even a second. He'd sit on her lap, she'd carry him and when she had to go to the bathroom, he'd go with her.

Kal always wondered why Mark wasn't close to John. It was almost as if he hated his own father. He wouldn't even look at John. Kal began to look at his brother and he had this mean look on his face. This scared Kal. Especially since the look was directed towards Mark. Did John hate his own son?

Mark was five years old during this family visiting and it was mid July. His cousin Lucy was just turning five and she was having a big party. A lot of her friends from school came and there was even a kitty pool in the backyard. She and her friends were loud as they played and squirted each other with water guns. Mark didn't want to play with them when Kal tried to get Mark to participate.

Mark just shook his head, made noises and wrapped his arms tightly around Laura who was holding him. He had his arms around her real tight and buried his head into her chest, crying and screaming. He was acting like Kal was going to just snatch him from her and force him to play with the others against his will.

Kal watched from afar as Laura calmed Mark down. He realized Mark wasn't like the other kids and as he watched her calm Mark down, he had a sad look, feeling sorry for the poor boy.

Mark began to scream and cry again as he heard a balloon pop. He was afraid of balloons because they popped. The balloons had to be removed from the room and Mark was clutching onto Laura's shirt real tight.

"Oh give me a break." John mumbled.

"What's his problem?" Kal heard a boy ask while pointing at Mark.

Lucy shrugged. "I don't know. He's weird."

This really hurt Kal.

"Hey Lucy!" A girl shouted. "Let's go play in the mud!"

Lucy ran outside and the boy followed after looking at Mark weirdly.

Laura took Mark to the guest bedroom where they were away from all the loud noise. "You wanna hear a story?" She asked.

He nodded.

She sat next to him. "Well this isn't like the fairy tale stories I read to you every night. This is a true story. It's about your great, great grandmother."

As Mark laid on his cot; the story that his mother told him played in his head. He wondered if he was at the same place where his great, great grandmother used to teach many years ago.

Soon it was four thirty in the morning and all the campers were awoken by the same usual loud noise. Mark and his tent mates changed into their work suits and rushed over to Pendanski who handed them their honey covered tortillas and canteens. After they got their shovels; they headed towards the digging site.

Bones was whispering to Grim, Snapper, Speed, Chewy and Bomber about something. He was talking about Mark who was eating his tortilla.

"I'm going to make this new guy so miserable and humiliate him. Listen up; here's the plan." Bones began.

At 12 when Mark was finished with his hole; he headed for the shed to put his shovel away and went to get his recreation clothes. The boys watched as he put his recreation clothes on a chair and stepped in the shower.

"Okay, come on guys, quick, while no one's looking." Bones whispered. They rushed over to the shower area, grabbed Mark's recreation clothes and ran off with them.

Bones chuckled. "The others are going to get a real laugh out of this. Let's go to the wreck room now and tell them all about our prank on the new guy."

Mark finished his four minute shower and went to the chair, only to discover that his recreation clothes were gone! His towel was gone as well.

Bones rushed over. "Mark! You're probably wondering where your stuff is. One of the counselors told me that they saw a few stain spots on them. Follow me."

Mark followed him to the Wreck room.

"Alright, everyone, here is our big laughing stock!" Bones pointed at Mark and the campers from the other tents all pointed and laughed at him.

Mark's cheeks turned red as he realized that this had been a set up by his tent mates.

"Maybe this will teach you to have some respect for me." Bones told him, smiling before turning his attention back on all the campers. "And get this! You're gonna be laughing your heads off big time on this one! During our counseling session yesterday; Mark said that he got sent here for attempted murder!"

Bones laughed Before continuing. "Attempted murder? Please, he looks like a little wimp and he's only 4 foot 8. He couldn't hurt a fly."

"Jason Jack Robinson!" Pendanski shouted. "Get over here now."

Bones whined. "Oh come on man! What did I do now?"

"I saw and heard the whole thing. You know our rule. Whatever we talk about in counseling stays in counseling. And since your friends were in on this too; they can come as well."

Pendanski snatched Mark's recreation clothes from Grim and handed them to Mark. "Here you go. You can change in your tent."

Mark and his tent mates were once again on their counseling chairs.

"I can't believe we have to wash Mr. Sir's truck!" Chewy whined.

"Man! This is all your fault! I can't believe we let you talk us into this!" Snapper yelled at Bones.

"No, you guys are responsible for your own choices. No one talked you into anything." Pendanski told the boys. "Speaking of choices. That's going to be one of our topics for today's session."

Bones, Grim, Snapper, Speed, Chewy and Bomber groaned.

"People can always make their own choices but you're responsible for your own actions and the consequences. Like what you did to your new fellow tent mate. Now that wasn't very nice. It was wrong. I am here to help change your lives around but I can't do it without your help or cooperation. You only have one life to live, one life and so far, you've done a great job screwing it up for yourself." Pendanski explained.

After the session, Mark's tent mates had to clean Mr. Sir's truck Which wasn't too far away from The Warden's cabin. There was a bucket filled with water and soap and six yellow sponges.

"And I want it shiny Girl Scouts. I want it to be so shiny and clean that I can see my face, do I make myself clear?" Mr. Sir asked deadly serious.

"Yes Mr. Sir." The boys said.

"Good, now get to work. By the way, The Warden wants you to dig two holes tomorrow." Mr. Sir walked off.

"What?" Snapper whined. "Oh come on! That's not fair!"

"This new kid is really going to get it now. He's probably just sitting on his cot, looking all smug. He's only been here for like two days and he already thinks he's all that!" Bones ranted.

"So what are we going to do to him now?" Snapper asked.

Bones grinned. "You all know how much Mr. Sir loves his cigarettes, right? Well I was thinking of stealing the cigarettes from this truck tomorrow when he comes to refill our canteens and I'm going to make it look like new kid took them and he'll be in so much trouble."

The next day, it was around ten in the morning when Mr. Sir came to refill everyone's canteens.

"Okay, you ask Sir some questions and I'll sneak in his truck and get the cigarettes, alright?" Bones asked his friends.

They nodded.

"Alright, line up girl scouts or you can just lick the dirt." Mr. Sir joked.

"Hey, Mr. Sir," Grim began. "Why do we always have to drink water? Why can't we ever get any soda or beer? Why does it always have to be boring water?"

Bones snuck in the truck to get the cigarettes while Mr. Sir was distracted by Grim and the others.

"Because it's good for you. It helps with dehydration and it gives you strength. Water happens to be one of the healthiest things you can drink. You should be thanking me." Mr. Sir lectured.

"Thank you Mr. Sir." Grim, Bomber, Snapper, Chewy and Speed said.

Bones got the cigarettes out of the truck and dropped them near Mark's hole. He chuckled mischievously before walking off. unfortunately for him; Mr. Sir saw what he did. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?"

Bones jumped back. "What are you talking about?"

"I Saw you drop my cigarettes near his hole. You went into my truck and stole my cigarettes. I think the Warden would love to hear all about what you stole." Mr. Sir told him.

"Oh come on! Not The Warden again!" Bones whined.

Mr. Sir dragged him to the truck by his ear. "Get in the truck son."

At 12 when Mark was almost finished with his hole, Dr. Pendanski came to refill everyone's canteens.

Mark was the last to have his canteen refilled. "Um, was this place once called Green Lake and was my," He stopped himself from addressing Katherine as his great, great grandmother. "Was their a school teacher named Katherine Barlow?"

Pendanski was taken back by this question but answered anyway. "Uh, yes, this place was once called Green Lake and the Warden's grandfather owned it. Katherine was a school teacher until she became an outlaw."


End file.
